Police were called to a premises on Lincoln Road at 12:40pm on Monday. Photo: RNZ / Dan Cook
A man has appeared in the Masterton District Court after a shot was fired at a Ministry of Social Development office.
A 25-year-old has been charged with committing a dangerous act with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, unlawfully possessing a firearm and unlawfully carrying a firearm.
There were no reports of any injuries.
Police were called to a premises on Lincoln Road at 12.40pm on Monday after a report of a firearm being discharged at another person.
Police took one person into custody at the scene.
Cordons were put in place around the Lincoln Road area and some police staff were armed as a precaution.
Work and Income central regional commissioner Darlene Rastrick said the incident would have been extremely distressing for those at the service centre.
"The safety of both our staff and our clients is our top priority.
"We are very grateful to the police and we would like to thank them for taking action so quickly."
Work and Income said they were aware two people were in custody after the incident.
The service centre closed on Monday afternoon and was set to re-open at 10.30am on Tuesday.
"We will reschedule appointments for clients who were unable to see us because of the temporary closure."
Rastrick said its Employee Assistance Programme has been on site all day and have additional staff and security ready to help as required.
They've also offered support to other clients who were inside the facility on Monday afternoon.
"Police have advised us they believe this was an isolated incident between the two clients, both of whom are in police custody, and there is no wider risk," Rastrick said.
"We take security very seriously. Our staff do regular safety drills, and our service centres are designed with measures to reduce risk and manage incidents if they occur."
Rastrick said staff responded quickly and appropriately to keep themselves and clients safe.
Inspector Nick Thom, Wairarapa Area Commander, thanked Ministry of Social Development staff for their prompt actions in following their lockdown procedures
"This enabled police to provide a swift response to resolve this incident quickly."
Thorn also thanked the community for their patience while cordons were in place.
"We believe this is an isolated incident and there is no further risk to the public.
"Police continue to make enquiries and would like to hear from anyone who my have information relating to the incident."
Mayor says no cause for concern in town
Masterton's Mayor Gary Caffell said there was no cause for concern in the town.
He said he understood the incident happened inside the facility and involved a couple of clients from the Ministry of Social Development and did not involve staff.
Caffell said there was a degree of shock but it should not deter people from going into the office.
"As far as I know there hasn't been any major problems there before so I don't think people should panic and get too concerned about going there, this was obviously a one off and as far as the wider communities concerned all I can say is the police had this under control very quickly and I don't think there's any reason for concern," Caffell said.
He said it was a reminder to the community to be wary of their surroundings.
"It just shows there are elements that can get up to bad business like this and you've always got to be aware of it. It's not something that happens a lot in the likes of Masterton where we would be one of the places where you don't get a lot of this sort of thing happening. It's a timely reminder that things can happen and we have to be very vigilant," Caffell said.
He also offered assurance to one of the managers offering support and assistance from the council if needed.
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